In defense of Doom (the movie)

Doom the movie sits at 18% on Rotten Tomatoes, the same tier as Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and Assassin's Creed, which feels unfair. Assassin's Creed tried to be clever and often came off dry, while Doom is gleefully dumb in the best way — an action‑horror film where people say "motherfucker" and then do something cool, an ideal four‑beer shout‑at‑the‑screen experience.

The way the marines are introduced is a classic of the form, echoing Aliens and Predator while leaning more into fun. Sarge (Dwayne Johnson, then credited as The Rock) appears shirtless, Portman is greasy enough that his hair seems to repel water, the religious Goat reads a Bible and catches fruit without looking, and Duke plays a Futuretronics Galaxian 2 to remind you videogames exist.

That sequence tells you exactly what kind of movie this will be: deeply indebted to Aliens but willing to play with the form. The plot sends the crew to Mars to investigate an archaeological dig where bad things happened.

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